


Multi-Faceted Individuals

by gingayellow



Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 11:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17042948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingayellow/pseuds/gingayellow
Summary: Kendall is doing some Ranger grunt work (and dealing with burnout). Can, of all people, Heckyl cheer her up? [Heckyl/Kendall, post-series, fluff]





	Multi-Faceted Individuals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VampirePaladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/gifts).



Title: Multi-Faceted Individuals  
Fandom: Power Rangers Dino Charge  
Characters/Pairing: Kendall Morgan/Heckyl  
Rating: G  
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine  
Warnings: None  
Notes: Takes place post-series, spoilers apply. There is a tiny reference to some of Heckyl's adventures in the PR comics here, but you don't need to read the comics to read this. This was written for VampirePaladin, and I hope you like it!

\--

Kendall double checked her work, but she was too tired to triple check, so she saved her document, and shut down her laptop before staggering off to her cot. She remembered to take off her glasses before bed, but that was about it. She was having trouble sleeping in recent weeks, and she didn’t want to waste time. The larger window she had for sleep, the better.

She pulled the thin blanket over her body.

Fifteen minutes later, she grunted as she turned over on her left side.

Fifteen minutes after that, she snarled as she turned over on her right side. 

She supposed she could see the red flags. She wasn’t invested in the museum anymore, so she’d left and devoted herself to hunting down quirks in the Morphin’ Grid before they became serious problems. Except she wasn’t interested in what was turning into paper work and phone tag with former Rangers. Which meant her work was slipping, and that there was a real chance she’d make a mistake with real consequences.

She wasn’t returning Shelby’s calls, unless it was business orientated. Or anyone’s calls, really. She kept assuring everyone that she was fine when they would corner her down in person (the ‘fun’ thing about being a former Ranger was that even when you had no super powers anymore, chances were you were friendly with someone who **did** , and this month there had been more ‘friendly surprise visits’ than Kendall cared to recollect). She was just busy, that was all.

Busy with… whatever her life was now.

\--

The next morning, she assumed that she could not solve the fluctuation in the Grid because she had roughly three hours of sleep last night. She had some more coffee, and promised herself that she’d figure it out by the morning.

Except she didn’t

\--

A week later, she still couldn’t solve the blasted fluctuation. And frankly, she didn’t care.

… okay, she finally realized as he rubbed her eyes. If Kendall Morgan didn’t want to solve a problem, then something was wrong.

She didn’t want to quit. That was antithetical to her very being. But… it was becoming clear that she needed someone else in the room, if only to have someone to bounce ideas off of. 

She gulped down some coffee for courage, and then opened her laptop to word an email to the Ranger community (thank goodness she and Shelby had convinced the older Rangers that yes, an online community was needed) that she had run into a minor issue concerning her Morphin’ Grid investigations. It was not required, but it would be appreciated if someone would help her troubleshoot.

There. She’d asked for help without actually asking for help. Excellent.

She put the laptop away, and spent the rest of the day failing to solve the problem.

No one can hear her thoughts when she goes to bed, so she allowed herself to wish for some help in the morning.

\--

When Heckyl sauntered to her campground the next morning, Kendall made a mental note to have words with whoever had answered her wish.

There were many things she wanted to do, but she settled for frowning. “Don’t you have your own part of the universe to look after or something?”

Heckyl rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry. When I heard that there was a problem with the Morphin’ Grid, the source that powers the one force capable of defeating the greatest evils of the universe, I thought maybe it should be solved. Silly me.”

Kendall kept frowning. “I was hoping for an active Ranger.”

“Sorry, they’re busy with some monster at the park or whatever.”

“You’re not a Ranger.”

“True, but maybe one day,” Heckyl said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Either way, I’m all you got.”

“Well, it’s better than nothing. But not by much.” She escorted Heckyl to her campsite. “I’ve been working on some ‘bugs’ in the Grid, for lack of a better term, but so far the solution for this is eluding me.”

“You don’t say.” Heckyl poured himself a cup of coffee, and then made a face, and put the mug down.

“Hey, show some respect! My coffee’s won awards!” Honestly, the nerve of this guy.

“Well, whaddya know, she does have emotions beyond mild annoyance.” Then Heckyl… smiled in apology? What on earth. “I’m sure it deserves those awards and more, but my non-Human taste buds feel otherwise.”

“I see. Well, since you’re here, you may as well make yourself useful. I’m having an issue with the purple energy.” She huffed as she tried to find a clear spot on the lawn table to place her laptop. She would have preferred to work in a proper lab, but the Grid worked in mysterious ways (and annoyingly off the main roads). “It’s saying there’s this uptick in purple energy in this area, but I can’t pinpoint the source.”

“Purple?” Heckyl wasn’t very good at pretending to be disinterested. “You were the last purple ranger, right?”

“Correct.” She wondered if she would be the last—she probably would be, if she didn’t solve this. “All the relevant info is here,” she directed him to her laptop. “Familiarize yourself with it, and then we’ll talk.” 

Heckyl worked on the laptop with a dramatic flourish, leaving Kendall to nurse her award-winning coffee. Ostensibly, Heckyl was reformed. If Keeper believed it, then so did she… for the most part. It was hard to forget that he’d weaseled his way into the museum, nearly killed her friends multiple times, and yet… she had seen something good in him when they first met. And then all of this had happened, and here they were now, in the middle of nowhere, trying to work together to protect the world.

Hmm. She’d always admired the Rangers and their unshakable confidence in good and evil, but it seemed like things were grey in nature (Prince Philip would be pleased). 

“I’ve read it all,” Heckyl declared.

“Fine, but how?! You’ve been there for five minutes. Also, do you have anything to substantial to add after that?”

“First, it’s called speed reading. Second, I prefer to absorb information before I reach a conclusion.”

Okay, now she was getting mad. “We have a job to do.”

“I know,” and it was one of the few times that he didn’t look like he was in the middle of delivering an over the top comment. “But it’s clear you’ve been working on this for too long. You need a few hours off.”

Her grandmother used to say the same thing to her, when she was working on her degree(s). “I don’t know.”

“I brought some food from my own planet—and I promise, Humans can eat it,” he promised her. “Let me make up for the coffee.”

Anything was more exciting than yet another energy bar. “Okay.”

\--

Heckyl heated up something that looked and tasted like porridge, but there was a sweetness to it she could not quite place. “So, how are things back on your planet?” It was a weird way to start small talk, but she wasn’t sure what else she could say, having dinner with her ally-then enemy-then ally under the stars.

“Busy,” he admitted. “I haven’t really had Heckyl time.”

She found herself smiling at that. “And what exactly is Heckyl time?”

He shrugged. “Roller coasters, kicking aliens in the shin, that sort of thing. Whatever gets your out of a negative cycle, right?”

A negative cycle. She wondered if that was what she was experiencing. It seemed like things she could do even a year ago no longer worked out right. Something that she could have solved—should have solved—easily once upon a time she was now struggling with.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure how to correct it.

“Easier said than done,” she said to herself as she had another spoonful of porridge.

Except, judging from his expression, Heckyl had heard her. “Well, that was troubling enough to break through my jovial demeanor,” he said. “What’s wring, Kendall?”

What wasn’t wrong? She was a scientist. She was a Ranger. She helped save the world. But then Koda and Ivan left—then Riley and Ian. Finally, Shelby and Tyler to work at the dino zoo at Angel Grove. All she had left was her work. And her work had devolved to errand running for people too busy to answer their email, unless they needed a favor.

“I need,” and she wished she knew how she could properly articulate this, “I need some reminder that I have something to offer anyone.”

Heckyl scoffed.

Kendall bristled. “You’re the one who asked.”

“Yes, but for a scientist, your observation skills are poor.” Heckyl stood up, waving his hands in the air dramatically. “You’re Kendall Morgan. The brains of the Dino Charge team. The leader. They all look to you for guidance.” He scoffed again. “Why do you think I targeted you when I was still evil?”

“… Thanks, I guess.”

Heckyl, unsurprisingly, bowed deeply.

But she’d be lying if she said that his words hadn’t touched her a little.

\--

She actually managed to sleep, a little, but found herself up at roughly 0300 hours. Yet she felt more rested than she had in a long time—relaxing with Heckyl had done her some good, it seemed. 

Kendall doubted she would get any more sleep, so she stepped out of her tent, and was greeted to the sight of Heckyl, snoring in his sleeping bag (she’d offered to share the tent, but Heckyl had refused to intrude on her privacy). 

She was a Ranger. She was a leader. She should be able to do this.

She would do this.

Then she **felt** it.

It was knowledge, but not on a laptop. It was the brush of energy, something she hadn’t felt since…

She felt like a Ranger again.

\--

Heckyl gave the fossil a wary glance. “Is it a Dino Gem?”

“I don’t think so, but it’s definitely similar. It could be a way to re-power old Rangers.” Which would not lead into a Ranger army—they’re defenders, not soldiers, and many former Rangers have permanently retired—but it could be a much-needed resource when battles become dire. 

Heckyl stroked his chin. “I’m still not sure how you found it. I thought you said all your tech and research was leading you to nothing but dead ends.”

“I believe the scientific term is Ranger magic,” Kendall said happily. “I remembered that there’s more to me than collecting data, and I could connect with the purple energy.” 

“Excellent,” and in that moment, Kendall could see why Keeper saw good in Heckyl. 

So, it wasn’t really “her,” but she hugged him. After all, she was a multi-faceted individual.


End file.
